No Excuses.........

You ever step back and realize that when you talk to people and you tell them that you used to be active and fit and strong (back in the day) their pupils get big and you realize that the fat chick ate her? Yup....that's me. People always seem so surprised when I tell them that I was a gymnast, figure skater, dancer, swimmer etc. I know they are trying to be polite and not say anything, but I have gotten really good at reading between the lines. The truth is, if I saw someone with the weight issues I have, and they said they used to be fit and active and thin, I would be a little surprised too. So honestly, I don't blame anyone for seeing me in the same light. The truth is, I see myself that same way. I look at myself and think "seriously? A fat chick ate me".

We don't wake up one day and decide to become lazy and complacent and just get fat. It sneaks up on you. You wake up one day and realize that you became fat and lazy and complacent. You look in the mirror and realize that you are staring at the "fat chick" and that the person you used to be was eaten somewhere along the way. You try and fail and try and fail. I think that happens because you don't remember exercise or "dieting" ever being that hard....you expect it to be easy because it was never hard before. The truth is that it was "easy" because it wasn't "exercise" to be thin, or fit...it was what you enjoyed. You didn't eat "crap" because you just didn't like it, not because you were "dieting".

I bake. I cook. And I'm going to toot my own horn here.....I am GOOD at it...DARN GOOD at it. I'm not going to stop baking or cooking. I enjoy  it, I love sharing my gifts in the kitchen with others. THAT isn't going to change. That being said, the only thing I can do to get the fat chick to "puke out" the fit, thin, strong girl inside  is to be active.

True, I have health issues that make it hard for me to be active. Sometimes the issues I have keep me from being able to walk easily....but they don't have to completely put me out of commission. They might put me on the sidelines as far as being fiercely active some days, but maybe I'm just trying to do too much too fast? Maybe I need to take a note from my friend Katie ( a marathon runner) and do exactly what she told me to do in the first place. "Walk...start there." It seems so simple and it is something I would tell anyone else to do who said " I want to run a half marathon". Especially if they have never been a runner...like me. lol

I was looking through Pinterest this evening (I'm highly addicted to that site) and was looking at some "Random Good Things" as I call them. (Just inspirational, motivating, sweet, funny saying and stuff I find on there.) I came across some good saying about exercise and weight loss. Several really struck me.....but one that really hit me was "Limitations only exist if you let them" another was "Yesterday you said tomorrow" and "Excuses are are Useless, Results are priceless." 

There are lots "valid" reasons why I "can't" do it......but I have to step back and ask myself if I want to see myself as a person who "can't" or if I want to be someone who OVERCAME?!?  I am tired of explaining to others, and to myself for that matter, why I "can't". I'm tired of hiding behind the excuses....though real and valid, I still use them as "excuses not to" instead of obstacles to overcome.  It is time to really just stop being such a pansy about it. It's time to stop saying "I can't because....."

"It will hurt.

It will take time.

It will require dedication.

It will require Willpower.

You will need to make healthy decisions.

It requires sacrifice.

You will need to push your body to its max.

There will be temptation.

But, I promise you, when you reach your goal,

IT'S WORTH IT."

Remember: "No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch"